Thursday, April 16, 2009

Book Review of The Vampire Queen's Servant

Good Morning Ladies... as promised I am (hopefully) back!!! And this time I have a book review...

The Vampire Queen's Servant

Erotic Romance/BDSM
Publisher: BerkleyLength: Novel Print Format

ISBN: 978-0-425-21590-6 or 0-425-21590-3

Release Date: July 2007

Format: Trade Paperback

The Blurh:

His blood. His soul. His body. Hers for the asking…
Lady Elyssa Yamato Amaterasu Wentworth is a centuries-old vampire who’s been given a new servant – Jacob, a total alpha male unaccustomed to submitting to any woman’s wishes. What really binds Jacob to her are not her sensual midnight hungers, but something far more provocative. It stirs her blood, renews her life and awakens her soul like only true love can. The passion between Lyssa and Jacob yields something else unexpected – a shared history that reaches back through the centuries and is fated to challenge their destiny like nothing ever will again.

The Plot:

Lady Lyssa is a very old and powerful vampire with a problem... she is dying. But no one must ever know that; because if her fellow vampires knew that... well... that would be the end of "playing nice with each other" and her being Queen. And come on... who doesn't want to stay being a Queen. There is always someone who thinks they can run things better than the first.

Jacob is a pass down servant with a very strong side of loyalty.

Does a strong man, as strong as Jacob, submit to a powerful woman such as Lady Lyssa. A man who is always sure of himself and knows that his job is to serve, protect and pleasure his women. The submitting part is the hardest pill to swallow for Jacob, but submitting his will and his heart... that is the part that has him lost with himself. Do you think a powerful Queen will keep her servant if they can not be obedient to her - no matter what her request is.

The Main Players:

Lady Lyssa - At first, I thought... what a bi*ch. Then as the story progressed and my thought changed a little. I learned that she was a tortured person. When you learn of her past, you see the how and whys of the person she has come to be. For her to be in the position she is in with her vampire community, she has had to go through a lot of crap. Which is due some respect, I will give her that. But at the same time, some of the things she ask Jacob to do... makes me want to slap her. But then I had to keep in the back of my mind while I read this was "she is the Queen Vampire and she has to portray a certain picture of "discipline" or they will kill her. After getting past that... she is just a woman who is scare to open her heart up again. If she does open her heart, then the other vampires will view this as a weakness and attack. Kinda damned if she does and damned if she doesn't. But she is a strong willed character, I will say that about her. Her determination to keep the laws of her kind in tact may be the death of her, but she will die trying to keep them there.

Thomas - He was Lady Lyssa's first servant (before Jacob). He was also a monk. He trained Jacob to take his place while he was dying, because he knew, in his heart, what Lyssa needed most of all. He knew that these two were meant to be together. Thomas's letter ties this all together... you have to read to find out about that! (Gotcah)

Jacob - What a man, what a man, what a might good man!! ***still fanning myself thinking of his description*** With that being said... he is a whole hellva lot of man. He is a very loyal person, first to Thomas then to Lady Lyssa. He knows in his heart that his place is to serve Lyssa, but his pride sometimes wonders what the hell he is thinking. Some of her requests are a bit, not sure what is the right word to use here. Because if that woman would have asked me to do some of the things she asked of him... well.... I would have staked her a$$ a long time ago. I learned though, that his heart was really in it. And when that happens, well, let's just say that you will do whatever it takes to make the heart happy. I felt compassion for him, because love is a bi*ch. He is torn between submitting and loving. There is no way the two can be combined... or so one thinks. But isn't that what we do when we love with all of our heart... submit everything.

My Thoughts:

First, this is my first Joey W. Hill novel I have read.

Now, on with the story...

I liked the pace of the book. It as never a dull moment. Although, some parts were a little harder to get through than some; it was a very good read. If you want erotic with a little mix of pain/pleasure... this is the book for you. If you just want a love story... well, find another book. This book has depth to it, because of the submitting factor. I mean, who really wants to submit themselves to someone else unconditionally and expect nothing in return. And basically that is what Jacob is doing. Because he is always kept in the dark as to the desires of Lyssa and if she truly accepted him or not. Lyssa keeps you guessing at what she is thinking. Because sometimes I would swear that she had fallen in love with Jacob and would stop tearing him down. But then, she would be such a bi*ch that I would just want to slap him and say move on!!! But her leadership in her community is what stuck out the most. Her power is what everyone wants to attain... and if they find your weakness... well, we all know what happens when someone finds out what can bring you down.

The Unexpected:

There were moments where I was like "Is this really happening." But remember you have to take a moment to sit back and think back in the book to remember... oh yea... she's a control freak... so yea... this is what you get. But the overall scheme of the book, love was the only thing that surprised me. I did not expect the harsh ways of her treatment towards Jacob; servant or not.

The Expected:

Well, since he willing became her servant, you expected some of the treatment he got. She is after all, the Queen... so I expected her to be a royal pain in the butt sometimes. Which she didn't fail me on that one.

Smut Factor:

Like I said, if you want a nice, cute love story... please do not read this book. If you want an erotic, turn your world upside down, make you look up an item on google... this is the book for you! It was very hot. You know that the book is erotic and it holds true to the title!

What Pleased Me:

The ending. I was really pleased with the way it ended. It left me wanting more but not disappointing me that it was concluding. The realizations that they both, Lyssa and Jacob, came to on the matter of their love was a very pleasurable thing to me.

What Displeased Me:

Well, I guess I would have to say the treatment of Jacob sometimes. But I had to stand back from the book and realize that he walked into this very much willing. But still... When she has the party, it bothered me that she practically forced Jacob to do things that you can tell he really does NOT want to do. I know he is her servant, but still. I know she is the Queen and she was trying to prove her point to the other vampires, but still that left a bad taste in my mouth.

Cover:

Okay, this is one very smokin hot and sensual cover. Especially for vampire fans (like me). I love the contrast of the colours - that in itself is awesome. Then you look at the picture... there is not mistaking what this book is about. The cover portrays the story of the book. Although, I have to admit, I had no idea what the tattoo was on his back until I got to the very last chapters of the book.... It has to do with the markings of his mistress (you'll have to read to find out about that too =). Very hot!!!

Author link:

If you would like to find out more about Joey W. Hill this is her website:

11 comments:

I read "The Vampire Queen's Servant", a long time ago. It the first nove I ever read with a BDSM. I didn't know it was BDSM. I have to say, while I admire Joey Hill tremendously, I had great difficulty getting through this only because I wept for Jacob. However, in the context of the world Joey Hill has created for these characters, and given "the nature of the beast", Lady Lyssa's treatment of her "servant" was forgivable...

That being said. I couldn't read "Mark of the Vampire Queen". I did love the first of her Mermaid novels and have the second in the queue here.

Good Morning Lea,Thanks for the words!! I looked up on your site to see if you had a review to post along with VampGirl's but I couldn't find it. If you do have one (even if it is from a long time ago), please feel free to post it here. I think that would be great for people to be able to see our different view points.

I agree with you on the BDSM. I was figuring on the servant thing being about sex... but not to that detail. Then when I read VampGirl's review... I knew to expect a certian aspect of what was coming. I liked the story. It was different from others that I have read about my vampires. I also agree with you... my heart bled for Jacob, but like I said.. he walked into knowing what he was going to get. My fave part was when he was on his motorbike determining if he should just leave or stay. (Not giving anything away!!) That moment was "real" for me. Because we all feel like that at some point in our relationships - no matter if we are married or dating. Sometimes, we have all had enough to say screw it! But the love factor is what is intriguing (not a good speller with spell checker) in this book.I have not looked at Mermaid series, but VampGirl did recommend that too. So, I will be putting it on the list of TBB.

Hi Cecile! Great review. I've got this series in my TBR pile but probably won't get to it until summer as I am just digging into Lora Leigh's "Breed" series and there are dozens of those to read, plus I just started the Immortals series by Kresley Cole- so I've got tons of paranormal to read before I can take on a new series.:o)

Thanks for visiting Blodeuedd!I have to say it was very interesting; especially the way Joey Hill described Jacob as the utlimate Alpha.

Hey Barbara!!! Thanks for stopping by!Thank you! Yea, the cover is smokin!! That is why I had to leave it on my page somewhere... But if BDSM is not your thing, then I would suggest not picking up the book. I mean, it really is struggle book. Because both people want to keep the power they have within themselves. So that was interesting.

Hey Erotic!!! Thank you thank you!I want to give the review as if we were sitting down talking about it. And my gut and my personal feelings is what you would get. I normally would not want to give away the charactes perception, but in all honestly... I would not want some to read this review and be like - well she didn't mention that! I mean, I won't give it all away, but truth has to be told.I am glad that it will be a hunting for you!!!

Beautiful Review Cecile! I must admit that your thoughts mirrored my own. The love/hate aspect with Lyssa, the true hero of Jacob, and your agony over what Lyssa put him through at the dinner party. And yes, while I thought Lyssa's treatment was a bit cruel, she never left Jacob in the dark with regards to the terms of their relationship. Plus, she gave him a dozen chances to walk away.

It did take me a long time to sympathize with Lyssa's persepective. It wasn't until after Jacob delves into her mind and views her soul, that I finally had that "ah ha" moment. Like, now I get you, kinda feeling. Then everything just clicked into place.

Surprisingly enough, while I agonized over Lyssa's demands of Jacob at the dinner party, I've already been preped for Hill's BDSM get togethers and knew what to expect. If you ever decided to dive into her Ellora's Cave novels like 'Natural Law', let me know. Those books taught me a lot on what to expect so I wasn't overly surprised by the nature nor outcome of Lyssa's dinner party.

I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on TVQS and I'm also very glad you liked it. :)

Hey VampGirl!!!I sent you an email yesterday!Thank you for your kind words on the review!I did struggle with Lyssa (love/hate); I have to admit that. But once I started piecing together her past life and her current position, things started making sence to me. But I still struggled to like her. Now, I agree with you on that she never left him out of the loop of what their relationship was, but she kept him out of the dark about her true hearts desire and the whole accepting him as her servant. I understand why she did not want to get to close to him though, because of what happened between her and Thomas. But she was like a light swtich... one minute she was hot for him and the next she was like get away from me. Even though, in the back of her mind and heart,she wanted him there. I agree with you, she gave Jacob a LOT of chances to walk away, but I believe that his self-worth would not let him walk away. His heart was in it and I beleive he is the type of person "once I am knee deep in it, I ain't going anywhere" type.Okay, see I was not prepared for the dinner scene. Only from what I read from you did I know about the book. And I know we try not to give to much away in reviews, so I was a litt thrown off. Not in bad way though, because I understood the situation. I will definitely have to put those novels on my TBB/TBR list. Thanks for the heads up on those!I am glad that you really enjoyed the review. I am just glad that you shared it with me!

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